MY FIEST GRAYLING. 283 



tnre. We saw enough to enable us to comprehend the sit- 

 uation of a boat swiftly descending the rapids around a 

 point and coniing suddenly upon a prostrate mammoth 

 cedar, all bristling \vitli sliarp, dead limbs — right across the 

 water highway, at just the most inconvenient height al)Ove 

 the stream. The old college problem — wliat would be the 

 result if an irresistible force should strike an immovable 

 object? — hardly suggests a more disagreeable predicament. 



On eitlicr side of the river a belt of lieavy timber grows, 

 partially because; fed i)y the moisture of tlie stream, perco- 

 lating through the soil, and partly because the ground is 

 "bottom lands." The higher ground, rising back from 

 the river, so far as I saw, is mainly sandy soil and partiall)'' 

 covered l)y a scanty growth of stunted jack-jiine. A de- 

 pression in the surface, gathering and confining the rain- 

 fall, produces a heavy gi-owlh of timber. 



Down the wood-fringed, embowered aisle of the Au Sable 

 we were at length swiftly gliding, under the tutelary care 

 and vigorous poling of our tw'o boatmen. For six or seven 

 miles there was no tisliing, and we had ample time and 

 opportunity to observe the beauties of the charming river, 

 winding gracefully and lapidly down its course; its cold, 

 clear waters revealing the sandy bottom; the air pure, fresh 

 and invigorating. 



At length, the word was given, — " there are grayling 

 here! " T made my first cast. In a flash, with a leap out 

 of water, a fish seized the fly before it touched the surface, 

 and was fairly hooked, with scarcely an effort of mine. I 

 hastily drew him in— he weighed only four ounces— and, 



